The secret she kept
by Dmjdenise
Summary: What if Lucas had a daughter and he never knew about her. Brooke got pregnant in season 1 and moved away before telling Lucas or Peyton. She only told her parents, and they send her away to another country. Now 14 years later Brooke decided to move back to Tree Hill. This is my first multichapter fanfiction in English.
1. Chapter 1 - moving the Tree Hill

What if Lucas had a daughter he never knew about. Brooke got pregnant in season 1 and moved away before telling Lucas or Peyton. She only told her parents, and they send her to a little village in The Netherlands were here uncle Bas lived. Now 16 years later Brooke decided to move back to north caroline to be precisely her hometown. What will happen when her daughter starts school in Tree Hill.  
This is my first multichapter fanfiction. I wrote the plotlines when in 2013 but never actually published it. English is not my native language so if you see any errors I appreciate if you send me a message so I can edit it.

My mom always said that since I was young, I was into sports. She and my uncle Bas watched soccer a lot on the tv, and Bas taught me how to play basketball. My mom isn't into sports, but she loves to design clothes. We always spoke English at home when uncle Bas wasn't there. He is the one who insists we speak Dutch in his house. So when mom moved here from North Caroline, he taught her Dutch, and when I was born, i was raised speaking two languages. Now I am on a plane to the USA. Lost in my thought when suddenly the pilot has an announcement.  
'"Ladies and gentlemen, we have just been cleared to land at the Wilmington national airport. Please make sure one last time your seat belt is securely fastened. The flight attendants are currently passing around the cabin to make a final compliance check and pick up any remaining cups and glasses. Thank you.".

Mom looks at smiles. She hasn't been back home since she was sixteen and I have never been to the USA before. Mom and uncle Bas shared stories about their hometown with me, but I never visited. The hardest part about leaving was to say goodbye to my friends, team and uncle Bas. I think of Uncle Bas as my grandpa. He isn't my real grandpa. He is a family friend of my real grandparents. My real grandparents, I only see once in a year on my birthday. We were almost landing, and mom held my hand.

We always have had this tradition to hold hands when the airplane is landing. A few seconds later we landed, and the pilot came with an announcement again: 'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Wilmington International Airport. Local time is 11:26 and the temperature is 88 degrees. For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the Captain turns off the Fasten Seat Belt sign. Thank you for choosing our airlines, and I hope you enjoyed your trip with us.

My thoughts when un-boarding the plane are "up to a new adventure, and I hope the stories my mum and uncle Bas told me about their hometown are true.


	2. Chapter 2 - The river court

It has been a few days since we landed in Wilmington. When we arrived, we were exhausted and ordered a cab to bring us to a hotel. That night I didn't sleep very well. I was nervous, and I didn't know why. Maybe because mom was worried when we landed on the airplane or just because I was starting at a new high school, in another country with no friends. So that night I watched a lot of movies on Netflix.

The next morning mom bought a car and we drove to Tree Hill. We drove for eight hours before we saw the welcome sign which said

" Welcome to Tree Hill. Home of the Ravens."

While driving through the town Mom pointed out different sight such as the high school, a basketball court by the river and the cafe called Karen's Cafe wich mum worked in for a while. After a few minutes, we drove by a beach and stopped in front of a house.

Mom looked at me and said ' Mel this will be our new home.'

We smiled at each other and stepped out of the car to get our bags. Mom opened the door, and I saw the most beautiful view of the beach I have ever seen. Back in The Netherlands, we often visited the beach but it was always crowded, and there were building along the coast. This beach is quiet and peaceful. I walked to the window and saw a few people on the beach making a campfire. At that moment I knew, this was definitely going to be an awesome place to live.

The next day, I woke up and smelled bacon and eggs. I got dressed, walked down the stairs and saw my mom cooking breakfast. She looked up and smiled at me while asking: ' Do you want your eggs scrambled or poached.'

'Scrambled, please.' I replied when taking a seat at the dinner table. I checked my phone if I had any messages. Wow 106 unread messages, what was going on back home. The first message I opened was of my best friend, Jasper.

"Mel, how was the drive up to tree hill? Spotted any bears, eagles or something like that on the way? '

I replied: ' ahahah the drive was long but fine. Mom decided I was in charge of the music playlist, so we listened to State Champs, Foo Fighters and Imagine Dragons. Oh, and I don't know if we have bears or eagles here in North Carolina, but we didn't saw any. How are you? How did the basketball game go?

While I finished typing the text mom put down my breakfast and asked 'Who are you testing Mel?'

'Ohh Jasper send me a text, but he doesn't reply, I guess he is sleeping or something.'

'Yeah that is possible, we do have a 6 hour time different' mom said.

'So what are we going to do today?' i asked while eating my breakfast.

'First, don't talk when you are eating Mel and second I think maybe unbox the rest of the boxes.' mom replied back.

Okay, but is it okay if after we finished unboxing, I go looking for a basketball court or soccer field? I asked.

Yeah sure Mell and I know where one is. Rember the first day we arrived in Tree Hill. I pointed out a basketball court nearby a river. I called it the river court. We can go there if you want and maybe I will join you.

I had a surprised look on my face. Mom never liked playing sports back home, and now she wants to play basketball with me. Alright, maybe she is trying to make up for moving here. I did leave behind my best friend and my basketball team. She did go to all of my games, but we rarely played sports together. I often played soccer with uncle ben or played basketball with Jasper. Jasper has been my best friends since kindergarten, and when going to elementary school, we joined the same basketball team.

'Yeah, why not. We never played together before, and maybe now I can win a game against you because the last time we played a party game you bankrupted me with monopoly' I replied while smiling.

After breakfast, we unpacked the boxes while listening to music. So now we are at the basketball court wich mom calls the river court. I am shooting hopes and mom is watching me from a bench. I shot another three-pointer when suddenly a tall man with black hair and a little boy who looks like around five years old walked towards us.

'Nice shot' the man said.

Thanks, I replied When suddenly I heard my moms voice say 'Nathan, is that you?'

The man turned around and replied 'Brooke, wow it has been a long time, where have you been?'

They walked towards each other and hugged while I stood there awkward watching it all happen. I bent over and asked the little boy what his name is. 'James Lucas scot but you can call me Jamie because everyone does except when mommy is angry. 'said Jamie.

I laughed. Alright, James Lucas Scott or Jamie for short, I am Mellisa Davis, but my friends and family call me Mel.'

'Nice to meet you Mel' Jamie replied.

'Do you want to play some basketball, Jamie?'

I got a very enthusiastic " yes please!' as a reply.

So while mom and Nathan talked, Jamie and I played basketball.

After a few minutes mom said. " Mel can you pause for a second. I want to introduce you to a highschool friend of mine.'

I gave the basketball to Jamie and jogged towards the bench where mom and Nathan were talking.

'Nathan, this is Melissa, my daughter." mom said.

Nathan looked shocked, "Nice to meet you, Melissa, I am Nathan Scott and the boy over there which I think you already met is Jamie, my son.'

'Wait, you are Nathan Scott, my mom's high school friend who played for the Bobcats?'

Mom told me about her high school friends she had before moving to The Netherlands. She knew one of her friends was playing for the Bobcats, the other one was touring as a musician, and another had an own record label. I was always fascinated with the idea mom knew a basketball player in the NBA.

Yes, I did play for the Bobcats and did go to school with your mom. Nathan replied while laughing.


	3. Chapter 3 - A phone call

_Another update. This time it's a short chapter because I have had a hectic week. I hope to write another chapter this weekend. If you see or spotted any spelling or grammar error, I would appreciate you telling me in the reviews. It would mean a lot to me. Thanks again to all the support and kind reviews you guys send me. I appreciate it a lot._

My mom never talked about my dad when I was young. I often asked about him then but she never fully answered. She told me a few things about him such as he loves to read and played basketball in high school. He has a younger brother, and he did not have the best relationship with his dad.

Mom also told the story of how she met. He got on the basketball team when mum was a cheerleader. She had a crush on him and decided to be her wilder younger self and hide in his car. When he got in his car, she revealed herself. I think, she didn't tell me all of the details but it better than nothing. When I asked, "Mom why don't i have a dad?". She always replied, " Everybody had a dad or father, but sometimes thing happens in life that resorts in the father not living with his child.'".

After I while i didn't ask anymore, but since moving to Tree Hill the question of who my dad is started to come up again.

I heard someone yelling "Mel! Watch out!", But it was too late. I was so lost in my thoughts, that i didn't saw the basketball coming towards me. I reacted too late, and it hit me right in my face. Jamie and Nathan burst into laughter while mom had a concerned reaction on her face. After i recovered my senses, I started laughing as well. We were laughing for a good five minutes before we begin playing basketball again. I still don't believe I was playing basketball with Nathan Scott, an NBA Player. I really should tell this to Jasper; he would freak out.

After we played for another 45 minutes, we decided to stop and rest for a while. Nathan, Jamie and I all went to the bench to sit beside mom.

Nathan and mom were talking, and I was explaining soccer to Jamie, when

Nathan said "We have this bbq next Wednesday with a few friends and I would love it if you and Mel would come. So do you want to come?"

Mom didn't know how to respond. Jamie was too exciting for me to come when I said " please Mel, come it will be fun. You can teach me how to play soccer? please, Mel." He then looked at mom and said: " please ms Brooke can you and Mel come to the BQQ?"

I looked at mom for an answer. " Yeah Mel can come, i don't know if I can come, but we will see." mom said.

For some reason, this wasn't what Jamie wanted, and he did a puppy dog face while he asked: "Please miss Brooke, can you come to?"

Mom gave in and replied "alright Jimmy Jay. I will come to."

A few seconds later, a phone went off.

" Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days

When our momma sang us to sleep, but now we're stressed out."

I immediately recognized the song. Nathan picked up his phone and answered "Nathan."

"Yeah Hales" he answered again. "I forgot about it, sorry Honey. We will be their shortly" He said when hanging up the phone.

He looked at the time and back at us. " Alright, that was Haley. I forgot about the time. We exactly had to be at the cafe right now, but if you want you can come with us? See Haley again and get a cup of Coffee or some soda" Nathan said.

Before mom even could react, I said: " Yess, I am so thirsty!"

I looked at mom while saying " if that's okay with you, mom?"

Yeah, that's okay. I haven't talked to Haley in 10 years, so maybe it's a good idea to go to the cafe." She nervously said.

We started walking towards the cars and drove behind Nathans car to the cafe.


	4. Chapter 4 - Meeting Haley

_Another update this weekend. I had a lot of inspiration, so I decided to write and correct another chapter. I hope you will like it._

When driving to the cafe, notice mom was nervous. She usually sings along with the music but this time was different. It was entirely on the way to the cafe. We saw Nathan park the car and lucky us there was a parking spot free right next to Nathans car.

I looked at mom and said "It is just some coffee and soda right? Nothing to worried about and Haley seems like a nice person.'

Mom looked at me and said "yeah just some drinks and how do you know Haley is a nice person? you haven't even met her yet Mel?."

J"Jamie and I talked while playing basketball on the river court and he may or may not have mentioned his mom a lot." I replied.

Mom laughed. "Of course he has. When I was in high school, Haley and I weren't always friends you know? But a few months before I moved to The Netherlands we became close. I missed her, Nathan and Peyton a lot the first few months' Mom said.

I looked mom in the eyes and said " it must have been hard on you, moving away from home and leaving your friends behind. I understand it more now."

"Yeah, it was hard at first, but after a while, some amazing and beautiful things came along, and I will never forget that. " Mom said.

Mom and I looked out of the window and saw Nathan and Jamie waiting on us.

"let's go, I think Nathan and Jamie are waiting for us to leave the car finally. "mom said.

The first thing I noticed when stepping into the cafe was the interior.

There was a dark blue bar with six or seven chairs and

this piece of cement with a quote written on it. It says" Somebody told me that this is the place where everything is better, and everything is safe."

I was taking in the interior while Nathan said " Honey, we are here. I know we are late, but I brought some friends."

A woman with short curly brown hair turned was standing behind the bar. I assumed it was Haley. "Nathan Scott, this isn't the first time you forgot the time while playing basketball. I know you, we have been married for 8 years now so I decided to brew you another pot of coffee," Haley replied while turning around.

She looked surprised at mom. There was an akward 5 second silence, when mom finnaly said "Hi Haley, it has been a while."

"Brooke, Brooke Davis. Wow, girl, it is good to see you. Where have you been?" Haley asked while hugging mom.

"I will tell you all about it over coffee, but first, I want you to meet someone." Mom said while looking at me.

I walked towards Haley. She looked surprised. I think she didn't even notice me at first. She was so busy cleaning behind the bar when we arrived at the cafe. I wanted to introduce myself, but Jamie was too impatient pulled at his mom's hand said " mommy, did I told you Mel and I played basketball against Daddy and won? It was amazing! Can Mel, daddy and I play again tomorrow? Dad said I could? could I mom?"

Haley looked down at Jamie and said " Maybe, we will see tomorrow but first do you want a chocolate cookie? just for this ones alright." Haley said.

She grabbed the cookie and set Jamie down in one of the booths with a coloring book. While Haley grabbed the cookie, mom, Nathan and I sat down on one of the tables. Haley walked towards us and said " Sorry about that I think he is a little too tired wich exhorts in him being very chatty."

"No worries, I know how it is when they are at that age. Mel was the same" Mom said.

I looked at Haley and said " Okay, let me introduce myself before Jamie interrupts again. I am Mellissa Davis, but almost everyone calls me Mel."

It nice to meet you, Mel. I am Haley, Jamie's mom, and Nathans wife as you may have noticed already." She said.

That evening in the cafe we had a wonderful time. Mom and Haley had a lot of catching up to do and Nathan, and I talked about basketball the first 45 minutes. After that, we helped Jamie with his coloring book and played some board games that were at the cafe.

Around 10 in the evening, we left the cafe with a promise to come to the BBQ this weekend.

That night, I fell asleep dreaming about playing basketball on the river court with my dad. I was about Jamie's age, and he taught me how to score a basket. I was laughing and having a great time. When suddenly a was awoken by a loud noise.


	5. Chapter 5 - A stranger at the door

_I had some spare time between classes and decided to write down another chapter. I couldn't wait till this weekend. I really appreciate and loved your reviews. It means a lot and helps me write. Thank you all. Ohh before i forget. If you see any grammatica or spelling mistakes, please let me know and i will correct them. Thnx again. I hope you enjoy this chapter._

It was 8 in the morning. The streets were quiet. There were just a few people on and about. Most of them were going to work, but one person just got off the phone with his brother.

A loud noise woke me. At first, I didn't quite register what it was, but after a few moments, I recognized it as our doorbell. Someone was ringing the doorbell very often. I heard mom walking down the stairs, towards the door while saying " I am on my way.".

I lay still in my bed, waiting. I heard mom unlocking the lock and after that opening the door. There was a silence for a few minutes and then two pairs of footsteps. After that, I couldn't hear what they were saying. Mom and the new quest were sitting at the kitchen table I presumed.

I was awake and couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to read a new book I recently bought at the airport back home. It was a book written in English called "The Noise of Time" by Julian Barnes. It is about a man in his early thirties; he writes music around 1937 in Russia. He is always nervous and anxious; he could be taking away to the big house. The story was, but for some reason, I couldn't concentrate.

Finally, after 15 minutes, I decided to get dressed and go downstairs.

While walking down the stairs, I heard mom, and I presumed a man was arguing about something.

"Brooke, what happened in high school? Why did you suddenly decided to ignore us and leave? You didn't even tell Peyton or me; you were leaving or thinking about leaving? Suddenly one day you were gone. You didn't reply to our messages or phone calls. What happened Brooke?" The man said.

"Lucas, you wouldn't understand. It was different then. I was different and." Mom said, but she couldn't finish her sentence.

The man, which I knew now was Lucas said " How do you know. I wouldn't understand. Peyton and I even visited your parents. At first, they would not say anything, just that you were living with relatives for a few months. After that, we stopped by your parent's house a few times, but they were almost never home. When we visited again around November, they told us you were living in The Netherlands. The Netherlands, Brooke. You moved to a different continent, without saying goodbye or even telling us."

It was one of the hardest things I ever did, Lucas. I didn't have a choice. There were to options, and I choose this one. If I had picked the other one I couldn't live with myself. I know, I messed up, but I didn't have a choice. You knew my parents weren't the best parent. I want us to be at least friends again. I missed you, Peyton, Nathan and even Haley a lot.

At that moment mom noticed me standing on the stairs. She immediately recovered from the emotional argument and said: " Goodmorning Mell, I hope we didn't wake you up."

Lucas, I presumed turned around and smiled at me but at the same time looked a little bit taken back.

"Lucas, this is my daughter, " Mom said

Lucas looked a little bit shaken and said "Ohh, I didn't you had a daughter. I am Lucas, Lucas Scott."

"Nice to meet you, Lucas, I am Mellissa Davis, but most people call me Mel. Are you family of Nathan Scott?" I asked

"Yeah, I am his brother," he replied.

There was an awkward silence when mom suddenly said, so who wants breakfast. Mom always knew how not to handle an awkward situation. Back home, she offered people food or started talking about something else. So I knew what she was doing when I replied.

" I would love some scrambled eggs," I sat down at the kitchen table when Lucas said, "I would love some as well."

Mom started cooking, while Lucas began talking.

So Mell, how was The river court? I heard from Nathan you are pretty good. Lucas said.

Yeah, it was great. I some played basketball with Jamie, and after a few minutes, we played against Nathan.

Did you play basketball back home? He asked

Yeah, I did, Jasper and I played on the same team till we were 12 I guess. After that, we played for the same club but in separate teams.

Mom caught some of our conversations and said " Luke, she played for Donar. It is a Dutch basketball club located in the north of the Netherlands. They are in the Dutch Basketball League, and her team won the premier leagues last year.

Lucas looked stunned. " Wow, that sounds amazing. Congratulations. So maybe you will join the Ravens basketball team this year?

Maybe, I don't know yet. I depend if they have a girls basketball team. I replied

Alright, breakfast is ready. Who wants scrambled eggs and french toast? Mom said.

So, Lucas, mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast, and tonight we had the barbeque at Nathan's house. This day already was different and kind of strange. While eating my breakfast, I was wondering what happened between mom and Lucas. They seemed to be something between them.

PS. Wait for the next chapter. After breakfast thing will be more dramatic. I didnt have time enough to write more between my classes.


	6. Chapter 6 - What happend?

The last two weeks were hectic, I that I want to study abroad for half a year in New Zealand, so there was a lot to discuss and to do. I hope, the wait wasn't to long for this chapter.

That breakfast was one of the most awkward and tense meals I ever experienced. Nobody talked, I caught Lucas starring at me multiple times and Mom had a weird expression on her face. It felt like there was an elephant in the room wich everybody could she but i couldn't. I say it wasn't the best breakfast I had, was an understanding. I had eaten my meal so fast, that afterward, I was a little nauseous. So when I saw a chance to escape this tense and awkwardness surrounding me, I take it. I quickly stood up, put my dishes in the sink and said: "I am going to my room, listen to some music and maybe read a book or something." I ran upstairs, closed the door and put on my favorite band, State Champs. The volume of my Cd-player was louder than usual. I got my laptop and started messaging Jasper. I hope he was awake.

"Jasper, I need a distraction? Are you awake? What's going on back home?"

"Mel, what's going on? Why do you need a distraction? Jasper replied

"I don't know what is going on the be fair. Can we maybe facetime or skype? I need to see or speak to someone. I am confused." I texted Jasper.

Alright, I am online. See you in a minute. He replied.

I started a video chat with Jasper. Skype tried connecting, and in a few seconds, I saw my best friend. "Hey, mel, what going on over there?" Jasper said.

I explained to him that early in the morning a man came knocking on our door. Mom opened the door, and it was Lucas. I described the awkward tension when we had breakfast. I told Jasper every last detail. I just had to talk to someone. When I was done speaking, Jasper said "Mel, that is just weird? After hearing your story, I think your mom and Lucas have a history. And then I mean the romantic kind of history. "

I was shocked.

I replied "why didn't i think of the earlier. The awkward tension, the conversation I walked in on and .." I could not finish my sentence.

I heard Lucas yelling " Brooke tell me the truth! Is Mel my daughter?"

I heard mom crying, and Lucas asked again " Brooke, is this it true? Just answer me, please! Do I have a daughter?"I couldn't quite hear moms reaction because she whispered something to Lucas.

Jasper and I were quiet. I looked at the screen and noticed I was crying. Could it be true? Could Lucas be my dad? I asked out loud.

Downstairs, I heard Lucas slamming the kitchen door while walking towards the hall and leaving the house. I looked outside my window and saw him standing on the driveway just a few meters away from my window. It seemed like he was calling someone. I silenced my music, told Jasper to be quiet for a few minutes and decided to listen in on his phone call. I know it isn't very nice but come on, I just needed to know what was going on.

"Nathan, are you home?" Lucas said.

Wait, is Lucas talking to Nathan Scott.

Yeah, i did ask the question. Lucas replied.

There was a silence.

"It didn't go as planned. I need time right now and a place where I could cool down. I can't believe she wouldn't tell me.."

"I am driving to your house right now, alright? I need to talk to you."

Lucas hung up the phone and started walking towards his car when suddenly I heard my mom knocking on my door.

I looked at Jasper, and then at the door. If I had known coming to tree hill would be this dramatic, i wouldn't have had come at all.

Mom knocked again on my door while saying " Mel can I come in? I need to talk to you."

I was silent for a few seconds. I believe what had happened. Lucas was my dad, or at least i guess he was. I don't know for sure, but there is a 90 percent change, and that's more then I have had my entire life.

Mom opened the door. She looked at me. She sat down beside me on the bed and asked: " What have you heard about my conversation with Lucas?"

I looked at her stunned but didn't reply. Mom then noticed I was still skyping with Jasper, and she asked

"Mel could you maybe end your Skype call with Jasper?" I know he is practically family, but I need to talk to you right now."

Alright. I replied. I said goodbye to Jasper and ended the call.

Thank you. Mom said.

Mom had her (i am serious right now) expression on her face.

"Mel, I know you heard some of the conversations, I had with Lucas. I know because when we started talking, you had music on and when Lucas stormed out of the house. There wasn't music on anymore. So could you please be truthful with me?"

Alright, that was my breaking much had happened and mom wanted me to be truthful when she couldn't even tell me truthfully who my dad was. "Truthfully mom. After all this time you didn't tell me who my dad was and I had to find out by him yelling at you. Yeah, truthfully I heard the last part. Just Lucas was yelling at you for an answer. So I can guess he is my dad right?!"

Mom looked at me with tears in her eyes. I know, this wasn't the way she wanted me to find out who my dad was. She answered, "Yeah Mell, Lucas is your dad."

I could not handle this anymore and started to run. I just ran, i ran. I remember putting on my shoes and jacked and running till I was at the river court. I needed to escape, and this was the only place I knew besides Karen's cafe where nobody would be, but boy how wrong was I?

Lucas and Mell both know the truth now. So let me know what do you guys think? And if you see any grammatical or spelling, please let me know so I can correct them. I know, I can't write a text without not seeing a few errors myself, because of my dyslexia. So if you see any, I would appreciate it if you commented or send a message to me. Cheers guys!


	7. Chapter 7 - a moment at the river court

Sorry guys, for the long wait this time. I had a lot of deadlines and exams for the past weeks. I hope it was worth the wait and thanks again to everybody who wrote a review. It means a lot.

The moment I stepped foot on the river court, I didn't break down or started crying or anything else. No, I was just sitting silently in the middle of the river court, staring at the basket. There was this moment of peace around me, but at the same time, there was a war going on in my head. I couldn't quite register what happened this morning. It was almost like a dream, I could not believe I learned Lucas was my dad.

I realized, Lucas is my father, so that means Nathan Scott is my uncle and Jamie, my cousin. Okay, my life just became a lot more complicated and awesome at the same time. My thoughts were all over the place, I had to talk to somebody about this. I wanted to grab my phone and call Jasper. I just needed to speak to him, but I was in a hurry and left my phone at home. Mom would be very concerned by now I guess.

As usual, I was lost in my thoughts when someone tapped on my shoulder and said: " Are you okay?".

I was startled and said, " what noo?! leave me alone."

I heard an unknown voice say "Wow. If I knew you would react this way, I would not have asked."

I turned around and saw a teenage boy around my age with dark blond hair and brown eyes staring at me. He had one of those faces which back home would be the definition of an American high school jerk or at least that is what Jasper calls them.

"Oh sorry, I thought you were someone else." I answered

"oh no worries, its okay. I am not used to girls screaming at me when they first meet me. I am Liam btw."

"Nice to meet you, Liam. My name is Mellissa, but you may call me Mell. Everyone calls me Mell actually. So you play basketball?" I asked

"obstacle, I don't. He replied.

"you are teasing me, right? Look at my outfit. I even have a basketball in my hand. What else would you be doing on a basketball court in a basketball jersey with a basketball?""

Liam looked at me with a grin on his face and said "Yeah obviously" And he started laughing, and he asked, " do you play basketball?"

"Yeah, of course, I love basketball."

We played till we were exhausted. We played basketball I forgot all of my problems. That was until we sat down on the bench and Liam asked: "So what was going on when I saw you sitting in the middle of the court?"

"You don't wanna know, it is a very long story," I replied

"I got time," Liam said.

"Alright, you're ready? here it goes," I said

I told Liam everything that happened this morning, but I left out a few details such as my mothers and father names. At the end of my story Liam said " Wow, that is definitely a dramatic morning. I think I would also run away to the river court."

I then decided to ask "So Liam, what's your story? Are you a basketball captain with a cheerleader girlfriend? Ever moved?"

"okay fair is fair. No, I am not the captain of our basketball team. Although I am part of my high school's team. I do not have a girlfriend at the moment. We broke up before the summer and to answer your first question no, I have never moved my entire life. I am born and raised in Tree Hill, and I don't know if that is a good thing though."

"Ohh wow, you never moved? not even moved to a different house?" I asked

"Yeah, that is a different story, Mel."

"Come on Liam, I just told my story or part of it at least. You have to tell yours now." I said

"Alright, just part of it. I moved when my parents were getting a divorce. Does that count? My father moved to the other side of tree hill while in the meantime my mom sold her house and left North Carolina. I will tell you more another time because my father is expecting me for lunch and I am already late."

Liam grabbed his phone and messaged someone. I think it was his dad.

"So Mell, when do I see you again?" Liam asked

" Uhh idk, maybe tomorrow same time same place?" I said

"That okay, but about the time thing could we maybe meet up around 4 in the afternoon? I have to help my dad with something."

"Yeah, that's alright," I responded

Liam wanted to get up when I asked: " Ohh and whats your phone number?" We exchanged our numbers.

"So what are you going to do now?" Liam asked

"I think, I am going to walk home," I replied

"Alright, I hope everything goes well and good luck mell," Liam said.

"Thank you, I really need it" I replied while hugging Liam.

I started walking home, and after a full 30-minute walk I finally arrived.

I rang the doorbell and hoped someone would be home.

I heard footsteps walking very fast, and the door went open. Mom was standing in the door opening. When she saw me, she immediately hugged.

"Mel, oh thank god you are home. I was so worried, we all were. I looked everywhere, called Haley, Nathan, and even Lucas. I searched the beach twice, went to the high school and Karen's cafe. I was so worried Mel, and I am so sorry for everything that happened this morning. I should never keep this secret for so many years." Mom said while crying.

"Its okay I guess, but we should talk mom and then I mean really talk." I replied."

We walked towards the kitchen, and I sat down on the same chair as this morning.

Mom asked if I wanted something to drink. I replied, " water is fine."

I knew mom has been crying, it was visible all over here was, but at the same time, she had a relieved and concerned expression.

When mom sat down, she said " Okay, first I am so sorry Mell. It was never my intention to hurt you. I always was to protect us, and now I realize the older you became, the more it was about protecting my feeling. And that is just not okay. I know I failed at that and I will tell you everything you want to know. No more secrets, no more lies, and only the truth from now one. Okay, I just want you to be happy because you are my daughter and I love you with all my heart." Mom said emotionally.

I was beginning to cry as well, I knew mom does not have the best parents. She actually never had any parents expect for uncle Bass I guess. Uncle Bass and mom actually told me about my grandparent's behavior last year. How they never were home, and mom was always some pawn and how they didn't even care if mom got arrested or was drunk.

I knew she loved me, she told me this every day. So with those thoughts in my mind, I said " It's okay mom, I get it, or at least I think. I forgive you, and I definitely got a lot of questions. I know you and uncle Bass told me bits and pieces, but I still have questions. Ohh and sorry for running away It was a very emotional and dramatic morning. so can a get a hug now please?"

That's how the conversation ended with Mom and I standing in the kitchen hugging each other.


	8. Chapter 8 - another point of view

Okay, this chapter will be a little different. I will attempt to write from Brookes point of view. I would love to hear what you think? Do you like it hate it or just think stick with Mel point of view?

Mel ran away, she ran away. This has never happened before. Where would she go? She hasn't seen much of tree hill. What should I do?

Do I give her some space or not? No, I cant. She ran away to got nowhere. I need to find here. My head was exploding with questions and thoughts on how to handle this situation. I am anxious, everyone mom would be in this situation and for some reason, I could not think very clearly.

Okay, first things first, where would Mel go to? Maybe the beach, the river court, Karen's cafe. That are the only places she knows, right?

Alright, Brooke keeps it together, call Hailey first to inform here and asked her if she saw Mel.

I call Hailey while taking my coat to put my shoes on and walk out of the door and get into my car. The phone keeps ringing. Come on Hailey pick up.

"Hi Brooke, how are you?" sounds through my phone.

"Thank god Hailey, you picked up. Mel ran away. Did you see her?" I ask

" Mel ran away! No, I haven't seen her Brooke, I am sorry. Can I do anything for you? help you search?" Haley replied

" Yeah, could you keep an eye out for here? She could be heading towards the cafe and could you maybe ask around if someone saw here? " I said

" Yeah I definitely will, what are you going to do now ?" Haley asked

" I am going towards them, and if she is not there call Lucas, maybe she is looking for him, but I will explain everything later. I really need to find mell first. Is that okay Hailey?" I rambled through the phone.

"Yes, Brooke it is but you really need to give us an explanation, alright? just find Mel first and keep us updated." Hailey replied.

I started the car and drove fast towards the river court hoping Mell was there. I looked around every corner, behind every car if maybe Mel would be sitting or standing there, but I had no luck. I was getting worried more by the second. When I finally arrived at the river court, nobody was there. I started looking around, maybe she was sitting by the riverside? But again I had no luck. Mel was nowhere near them, and I was really getting worries and frighted. I walked back towards the car, and that's when it hid me. She could be hurt or in danger. She could be anywhere, and I haven't called Lucas yet. I frantically searched for my phone in, almost dropping it twice while dialing in Lucas number.

" The phone rang."

" Hi this is Lucas, I am not available right now. just leave a message after the beep, and I will call you back as soon as possible."

SHIT! Not now. Okay, maybe she went to Nathans place. I called Nathan.

" The phone rang."

" Hi Brooke, what up?"

"Nathan, have you seen Mel? She ran away." I asked

"No sorry Brooke I haven't and are you okay? can I help?" Nathan replied.

In the meantime at Nathans & Haley's house, Lucas and Nathan were in a discussion about Brooke and Mel when first Lucas phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was Brooke.

"Its Brooke Nathan, what should I do? I really can't deal with this right now."

"Just let it ring for a moment, calm down and afterward call her back alright bro?"

"Sound like a good idea," Lucas said.

"We were talking about Mel right?" Nathan asked

"So you found out she is your daughter? and my niece." Nathan said.

Lucas nodded yes.

"Wow never though Brooke would move and hide the fact that you have a daughter. She must have a good reason for it right?"

" I don't know Nathan, I don't know anything right now. The last couple of months hasn't been the easiest with the break-up, manuscript deadlines and everything else. I think this may be my breaking point. I am freaking out Nat and don't think I won't be a father to Mel. She is a fantastic girl."

Nathans phone rang. He picked it up and said " Its Brooke, Lucas."

At the same moment, Nathan saw the message from Hailey about Mel, pop up on his phone screen. Nathan answered the phone.

" Hi, Brooke, what's up?"

"Nathan, have you seen Mel? She ran away."

"No sorry Brooke I haven't and are you okay? can I help?"

" Yeah, could you maybe try to call Lucas he is not picking up, and maybe Mel is looking for him."

"Brooke, Lucas is sitting next to me. She is not here. Have you checked the river court?" Nathan asked while writing " Mel ran away on a piece of paper and showing it to Lucas."

" Yeah, I have been there already Nathan. I don't know what to do now. Okay just go home and stay there, she will eventually be back, and Lucas and I will search tree hill. So when she is going home, somebody will be there, alright Brooke?"

" Okay, I will be going home, but please please Nathan find here and keep me updated. I don't like this anymore and sitting at home doing nothing is not exactly my thing."

"Alright Brooke we will, I promise you."

Nathan turned around towards Lucas and said: " are you okay luke?"

"No Nathan I am not, but we have to find Mel. So get your car keys and thank god Jamie isn't here and is at debs house."

Lucas and Nathan drove around Brookes neighboorhood for a few hours and keeping in touch with Brooke. Around the time it was almost dark they were getting worried, but then Brooke came with the news that Mel was back home. You could feel all the worries fading away in the car.


	9. Chapter 9 - A conversation long due

Alright another chapter in 2 days, I am trying to write more this week after a long absence. I hope this makes it up for the long wait. also, its another chapter written from brookes point of view. Would love to hear what you think of it.

Yesterday was one of my worst days in a long time. Lucas and I argued, Mel ran away and all things that could go wrong went wrong. It was never my intention to keep Mel a secret from Lucas, but I could not deal with the past. I was running away from it. What happened that year I found out I was pregnant was something I wish nobody especially my daughter has to go through. It is my life goal to see that she will have a better environment to grow up in then I have. I never want my daughter to choose between her child and the man she loves.

After Mel got home, I called, and after that, we talked for a while in the kitchen. I appreciated her compassion; she is growing up to be a beautiful and kind young woman. But still something is bothering me, and it has everything to do with Lucas. I want to explain to him what happened in those years, but I don't know how to start that conversation. He was always the one who knows how to put certain things into words.

It's around 7 in the morning when I lay awake, and all these things are going through my mind. I get a piece of paper and write down all the things I need to do and all the things that bother me. I kept a diary in, but Bass came up with the idea to write down all the things that worry me on a separate piece of paper. I remembered when he gave me that advice. It was the year Mel turned one; I was missing everything about tree hill. I was very angry with my parents. Mel was crying, and I couldn't bring myself to go to her and comfort her. Suddenly Mell stopped, and bass came walking in with Mel in his arms and a piece of paper in the other. He said " Brooke you can't do this, you need to sort out your thoughts and I know you wrote in your diary before. I don't understand why you stopped writing but try to write down the things that are bothering you, and maybe we can figure things out together. If you want, I can help. Just leave the piece of paper with your thoughts on the kitchen counter in the morning, and if I see it there tomorrow, I will help you with everything as best as I can. I remember wanting to hug Bas and thanking him, but being stubborn I didn't. The next morning I placed the piece of paper Bass gave me on the kitchen counter, and he helped me with my struggles. Bass is the one parental figure in my life who exactly helped me with my problems.

I wrote down the following things on paper the morning after Mell ran away:

1\. Talk to Mel

2\. Talk to Lucas and mell together

3\. Tell Lucas the truth about everything

4\. Call bass and keep him up to date

5\. explain things to Nathan and Hailey

5\. Go Nathan and Haileys bbq

6\. Call Karen maybe and tell hopefully together with Lucas about Mel.

I put down the piece of paper, checked in on mell. She was fast asleep and went downstairs. I take my phone from the charger and start calling Lucas, hoping he would be awake.

The phone rang, and immediately I hear his voice

"good morning Brooke, is everything okay? is Mel okay?"

"Everything is fine Lucas, I called because I thought we should talk and I will answer every question truthfully and explain everything."

"Alright Brooke, but this is your last change. I can't handle more, I think. Just the truth and nothing else, okay?"

"Just the truth Lucas, promise."

"Okay, I will be over in about 30 minutes if that okay?"

"Yeah that's fine, see you in a bit and I will make some breakfast."

"See you, Brooke."

And Lucas hung up.

30 minutes went by, and I saw parking his car on the porch. I opened the door, and we walked towards the living room and sat down.

Lucas started talking.

"Alright Brooke, what happened? why didn't you tell me I had a daughter?"

I signed. The reason i didn't tell you before was that I was scared. I was afraid and running away from my past. You know i don't have the world greatest parent, to put it mildly."

"Yeah, I know Brooke. I know your parents sucked alright? but that doesn't explain anything."

"Okay, Lucas it doesn't. I know, I was just scared alright. They asked me to ... I could finish my sentence; I felled the tears welling up in my eyes.

They asked me to to give Mel away okay. They gave me a choice, give mell away to the other family or move in with Bass and never tell anyone back home about her, not even you. I felled the tears on my cheeks and Lucas hugging me. I started crying in his shoulder while explaining everything, from my parents first saying I had to abort Mel, and I am refusing. My parents own reputation being more critical then Mel life. How they thought I ruined them and why I had to move. They said " you can't be pregnant Brooke, you're a teenager. we cant be grandparents what would everyone think."

Furthermore, they gave me the ultimatum after all: give Mell up for adoption and never speak about her to anyone or move in with Bass and forget about everyone back home.

So that's how Lucas ended up comforting me on the couch. After I calmed down, I gave Lucas a glass of water because he also had tears in his eyes, even though he would not admit it. He said "alright Brooke, I understand. I don't approve it but I understand and I think I can forgive it for now but you got to give me some time alright? Things haven't been easy for me either."

"Ohh Lucas, you don't know how glad I am to hear you say that."

"Brooke, there is one thing I would like, and that is to get to know our daughter. When she wakes up, can I have a moment with her alone maybe go to the river court and play some basketball together?"

"yeah sure Lucas, I can't say no. Be careful, and we should talk to here together about everything how to go from here alright? I have told her a bit about my past but not everything."

"I don't know if I can keep secrets from here Brooke if she asked I won't lie to her. I won't talk about our conversation this morning if she doesn't ask, okay? that all I can promise."

"I understand Lucas, that okay. I appreciate it. Thanks, Luke."

I heard mells alarm going off, and a few minutes later we heard her footsteps going down the stairs.


	10. Chapter 10 - A talk at the river court

Hi guys, I know it been a while, and I am so sorry. Life just happened. I moved to Auckland, and I am doing an internship at a fantastic company. That's, not all I also met my boyfriend here. So I hope it was worth the wait and I will promise to update more regularly.

My alarm clock went off. I didn't even know why I did put the alarm on in the first place. I didn't have school, and I didn't have any plans today. I probably forgot to turn it off the last time because of all the drama that happened.

Even though yesterday was full of drama, there were some little moments of joy, such as meeting Liam and finally having a good talk with mom about the things that were going on. I know, it wasn't the right to run away, but I felt closed in by all the walls in the house.

I picked up my phone and scrolled through all the messages I have on either snap chat and other social media. Nothing out of the ordinary except for a few messages from uncle bass asking how I was holding up and what happened with mom. I decided to reply to him a bit later since he was already asleep by now. I consider uncle bass as my grandfather, but he doesn't want to be called Opa which is granddad in dutch. He thinks he is too young to be called a granddad by someone.

My stomach was making noises, and breakfast was on my mind when I stumbled downstairs. I was welcomed with the sight of my mom and Lucas sitting on the couch. They looked kind of happy and didn't really see me coming, so I thought. Goodmorning mom and good morning Lucas I said.

"Good morning Mell, how did you sleep," mom asked.

"Kind of well but crappy at the same time" I replied.

"That sucks, I hope you are still up for some breakfast" mom asked.

"Of course, is Lucas joining us?"

"If you don't mind, I would love to join since I haven't had to breakfast myself," Lucas replied.

That's how we ended up sitting at the kitchen table for the second time in a row in two days. Not that I didn't mind. I kind of liked the idea of having a dad in my life now, but it was also a scary idea. I never really had a dad growing up except for Bass, but he was more of a granddad to me.

Mom was cooking me scrambled eggs while Lucas was reading the paper when he started a conversation.

"He mell, do you maybe like to play some basketball with me after breakfast at the river court? I know we haven't talked too much and I kind of would like to know you a bit better if you are okay with it of course?"

I could notice in Lucas' voice that he was nervous.

"Yeah sure, I would love too, but only if mom is okay with it of course?

mom turned around and replied

"of course mell why wouldn't I be, just have fun.

I was almost ready to get off the chair and get my basketball stuff when mom said:" after breakfast of course."

I quickly eat my breakfast that morning and got my basketball gear to go to the river court. The car ride to the river court was kind of awkward since Lucas, and I didn't really talk before except for yesterday morning. He was trying his best and asking me about my high school back in the Netherlands and how I met Jasper. It was a friendly conversation if I look back at it. Lucas parked his car near the river court, and we got out.

"Are you ready to shoot some hoops?" Lucas asked

"Of course, I am," I replied while Lucas passed the ball to me.

"So what do you wanna do ? just shoot some hoops first or do a one against one? "Lucas asked.

"Let's do a one against one, why not. I am kind of curious if all the stories, mom told me about your basketball skills are true."

Lucas laughed, we shall see if I can still play like the old times.

I passed the ball to Lucas, and we started the game. In the beginning, I scored a few goals but later on, Lucas made a few fantastic 3 pointers, and we were at a tie. Lucas was really good at basketball, and I had trouble keeping up with him. He was, of course, taller then I am and a few years older but it was good fun. I kind of felt as we knew each other for longer than a few days. We played for more than an hour when Lucas phone went off multiple times.

I noticed he ignored them, but it was getting on my nerves, so I said: "Lucas if you want just pick up the phone, I think someone I am trying to reach you multiple times."

"Alright, just give me a few moments, and we will return to the game, I promise." He replied.

I sat down nearby the river and kind of listened in on Lucas his conversation. I picked up a few words, but i couldn't make out a conversation. I think Lucas is calling with Nathan.

When Lucas returned, he said:" That was Nathan, he was wondering if I am still on to go to his bbq tonight since all the stuff that happened these days. He also asked if I could help he set up a few things. I replied I could help him and if you want you may, of course, join me. " Lucas asked.

"Yeah, of course, I would love to help and see Jamie. He is one of the cutes and funniest kids I have met so far."

"Great, and mell... I know I haven't been around much and we really haven't talked much either but this morning has been an important thing for me. I kind of had a talk with your mom this morning about the things that happened in the past and how to go from here, and I would love to be more involved in your life and see you more often such as this morning if you are okay with that of course? "

"Yeah, of course, I am okay with that. I would kind of love to but to be honest with you I never really had a dad figure in my life except for uncle bass, but he was more of my granddad. But I would love to get to know you a bit better to Lucas. " I replied

I had a few tears in my eyes since this was the moment I was dreaming about when I was a little girl. Lucas noticed this and quickly gave me a hug.

" Don't cry mell, it's just that I think you are an amazing girl and even though I don't know you that long I am really proud to be your father," Lucas said to comfort me.

We sat there for 2 minutes until I kind of stopped crying, and he helped me get up.

" Thanks for that Lucas, I appreciate it, and I would love if we played basketball more often together and get to know you a bit more then just the stories mom told me."

"I will be keen to do that" Lucas replied

"So, let's get to Nathans house and help him with the bbq right? Oh and I kind of need to call or text your mom to say we are going to Nathan's house to help him. Could you maybe send her a message when we are on our way to Nathans?" Lucas asked

"Yeah, of course, no problem.

We walked towards the car, me with my basketball in my right arm and Lucas with his keys ready to open his car. This day could begin better I thought. Tonight is the bbq, and now I am helping Nathan and Lucas to prepare for it while I can spend some more time with Jamie.

Lucas started up the car while I texted mom to say I was at Nathans with Lucas to help him prepare for tonight.

She replied with " Have fun sweety and will see you in a few hours."

I smiled at her reply and thought I really needed this morning to distract me from all the drama of yesterday.

Let me know what you guys think and if you see any grammatical or spelling, please let me know so I can correct them. I know, I can't write a text without not seeing a few errors myself, because of my dyslexia. So if you see any, I would appreciate it if you commented or send a message to me. Cheers guys!


	11. Chapter 11-Preparations for the barbecue

Hi Guys, in the last chapter I promised to update this story more regularly. I am trying to write a chapter every week, but i can't promise anything since this month will be one of the busiest in the office. Hope you guys are doing well and are still enjoying the story. Let me know what you think in the comments and how you are doing? Cheers!

A 5-year-old was tackling the first thing that happens when we arrived at Nathan and Haley's home. The moment our car drove into their porch, Jamie wanted to run across the yard. Luckily Hailey was there to keep him in check. I looked at Lucas who was laughing at my reaction and at Hailey trying to keep Jamie calm.

He turned to me and said, " I think you have a new best friend."

We both started laughing.

"Yeah, i guess i do. I better have to tell Jasper my five-year-old cousin has replaced him."

Lucas started to laugh harder. "alright let's go or otherwise I will think Jamie is going to break loose. You're ready to help them with the barbeque?"

"Yepp, at least I think I am, why wouldn't i be? It's just a barbecue right?" I asked Lucas.

"Uhh, let's just say its more of a family/friends reunion, but don't worry it will be a lot of fun. They always are!" Lucas assured me.

And boy, how I was wrong, Nathan and Hailey can throw a mean barbecueparty since it wasn't a barbeque as Lucas said.

I stepped out of the car and Jamie immediately tackled me to the ground.

"Hey there, little cousin of mine."

"I am not little mell."

" Alright, big cousin of mine since you are already five."

Jamie and I started laughing while I saw Lucas and Hailey catching up.

"Mel, do you wanna play basketball?" Jamie asked while still being on top of me.

"Yeah, little dude but then you first have to let me go right?"

"Okay," Jamie replied while he happily bounced back from the ground.

He ran towards the door which was still open and shouted " Come on mell lets go, I wanne play basketball with you?

I followed Jamie into the backyard, where there was a mini basketball hoop just for made for him.

While Mell and Jamie were playing basketball in the backyard, Lucas and Hailey had a serious talk in the living room.

"Lucas, what happened? I am baffled. I didn't get all the details of Brooke and Nathan doesn't know anything more then I do."

"Alright hailes, let me explain, but i don't want to explain everything because there are some parts that brook has to tell you."

" Spill it, Eugine," Hailey said while smiling.

Lucas had a smile on his face when they sat down at the dining table. He told Hailey about what happened after Brooke moved and a bit about mell, how brook told him what happened last morning and that he talked with Mell this morning at the river court. He practically told here, almost everything. The only thing i didn't say her was what Brooke told him this morning when the had a heartfelt talk. Lucas didn't know how much he needed to tell somebody. To tell the story and let it all the drama of his shoulders. After he finished, he felled a lot better than when this day started.

Hailey listed patiently to Lucas story and halfway through Nathan came in and sat down next to Hailey.

"Lucas, I think you are too hard on yourself. You did the best you could. You set the first step to have a relationship with mell and seeing how she is around you. She is practically a mini version of you and Brooke. She has the sportive and broody things from you and the confidence and attitude from Brooke.

"Yeah, I agree with Hailey. Lucas, you didn't know, and you are doing the best you can at the moment. Just take a deep breath and to realize you have a daughter and who for so far I know is an amazing you women."

"Thanks, guys, I needed that," Lucas replied

Nathan got a beer from the fridge and handed it to Lucas. Just relax luke and enjoy tonight. Ohh and help me set the thing up, please. He said while smiling.

After that talked Lucas helped Nathan, set things up while Hailey was prepping the food. Midway through the afternoon around 4 Brooke came in and helped Hailey. They were cooking the vegetable while watching Jamie and mell play in the garden.

"Mel and Jamie seem to enjoy them self. Even though i don't know what they are doing?" Hailey said.

Brooke looked out of the window and saw Jamie trying to chase Mell down the garden with a tennis ball all while Mell was making funny faces to Jamie and holding a tennis racket.

Brooke laughed and said " To be honest Hailey this doesn't surprise me anymore. Mel always had a lot of fantasy while growing up. She once invented her own game with some of the kids in the neighboorhood".

" really, wow. I am happy they are getting along well though." Hailey replied

"Me too hales. I don't regret coming back home so far. Lets just put it that way." Brooke said.

Haley and brooke returned to their cooking.

The afternoon was almost over and the evening started to come along. Hailey and Brooke were done with prepping the food for all their friends and family while Lucas and Nathan joined Jamie and mell in a game of tag.

Brooke was dreamingly staring at Lucas trying to tag mell but failing when Hailey offered her a glass of wine.

" Thanks, I needed that. Is it weird to say I am nervous about meeting everyone again?"

Hailey looked at Brooke who was still looking at the game of tag.

"no, it is not Brooke. It is very normal. You haven't seen them in a while. Everybody would be nervous."

"Okay good, because I know what I have to say when people will ask where I have been and what happened and that I have a daughter right now."

"Be honest, and you did a great job with mell. Try to relax have fun and catch up with an old friend. I think everybody will be glad to see you again after you disappeared. We missed you a lot the past couple of years. I am just glad you are here now" Hailey said.

Hailey hugged Brooke while trying to balance here red wine. The red wine slowly dripped on a haileys white shirt. Brooke saw it happening and tried to catch the glass before it fell completely out of Hailey's hand, but she was too late. The glass fell on the ground, and the red wine spilled all over Hailey shirt.

"SHIT!" Hailey said.

Everybody stopped playing tag to see what happened. Two worried faces were to head towards the commotion that was Hailey yelling shit very loudly.

While Brooke said, " Nothing is going on, we just spilled some wine."

" Mommy said Shitt dad, does she have to pay 1 dollar now?" Jamie asked

Hailey was to busy trying to get the stain out with water while Nathan reacted to Jamie with

" Yeah Jimmy jay, i guess mommy owns 1 dollar to the swearing jar.

The next chapter will be the barbeque and Brooke and Mell meeting all the rest of tree hill.


	12. Chapter 12 - BBQ

After Hailey cleaned up here shirt, the doorbell repeatedly rang while the guest was coming in every 10 minutes. I was kind of nervous. I don't know anybody and mom were talking away with multiple different persons.

I felt like i didn't, belong. Everybody was having fun; even Jamie was playing along with the other young kids. His friend Chuck was over, and they played together, although i didn't know if they were good friends. Let's say his primary school friends were there and i didn't want to bother him.

I was trying to find a familiar face when a lady around here 40ish with black curly hair and a cute kid were walking towards me. She made eye contact and said, " You look a bit lost, are you, okay sweety?"

She looked fimilar, and I replied " yeah i guess so, i don't know anybody really exept form Jamie, Nathan, hailey, and my parents.

"ohh sweety, no problem. Do you want something to drink? Ohh and also, I am karen, and this little girl over here is Lilly. "

"Nice to meet you, Karen and Lilly. I am Melissa Btw, but everyone calls me Mell," I said while shaking karens hand and giving Lilly a high five. She was so cute, holding out her little hand wanting me to provide a top five.

"That's a beautiful name, how do you know Nathan, Hailey, and Jamie?"

"Ohh my mom went to the same high school as them, and since we just moved back, they met up again. Let's say it has been a crazy week." I said.

"That must have been hard moving to a different town. Where did you live before moving here? If I may ask." Karen asked

"yeah sure, we lived in the, but mom lived in tree hill before she moved in with my uncle bass," I replied

While Karen and I were talking Lilly became a bit of unrest. Also, we didn't notice at all that Lucas was approaching us while we were having a chat.

We just heard him saying "Ohh mom, what are you doing here? I thought you were still in New Zealand and couldn't make it."

"Hey Lucas, how are you?" Karen said at the same time Lucas and Karen were hugging each other. This all happened at once while a little girl was hugging Lucas' leg and saying: "Lukkiee, I missed you."

Lucas picked her up and swung her around.

" I missed you to Lilly and you aswell mom. Where is andy? Is he not coming?"

"Unfortunately Andy had to stay in New Zealand for Work. His company in Tauranga needed him to be in Dunedin. He sents his best wishes.

"Okay, say hi for him. Ohh also mom have you meet Mell?" Lucas said

"Yeah, we were chatting along a bit. Ohh you mean this is Mell, my granddaughter." She said with her eyes full of emotions.

"Yeah, mom" Lucas replied.

I was immediately hugged tightly by Karen while she said " Sorry I didn't notice before, I must have been the jetlag. It's so beautiful to meet you, Mell. Your dad told me a bit about you the last couple of days, but I love to get to know you a bit better and if you need anything, remember you can always give me a call, sweety.

"Thanks, I appreciate it a lot, Karen."

"Well, you can call me grandma if you like."

"Alright, haha i appreciate it a lot grandma. It is nice to know that I can go to someone else then my parents."

"Alright sweety, I will catch you later and let you and your dad alone for a bit."

"Okay, see you later Grandma."

"see you mom," Lucas said.

It felt a bit weird that I have to call Karen grandma, but at the same time, it felt normal. The only thing that made me a bit uncomfortable was that she was referring to Lucas as my Dad. I know he is my dad and I want him to be my Dad, but I think this sort of things that a bit of time.

After Karen and Lilly left, Lucas and I talked a bit about the little things. About how my life was in The Netherlands, how I started playing basketball and last but not least we talked about all the different books we liked to read. It was nice to speak with him that wasn't about all the drama that happened the last couple of months. At some moment, one of Lucas old high school friends joined the conversation, and he had to leave again to help Nathan with the bbq. Before he went, he asked if I was okay for a while or if I wanted to help him and Nathan out. That was sweet of him. I replied I was fine and decided to play basketball in the garden.

I just needed a few minutes to myself after meeting a few people and being social. I felt like I didn't have a minute to myself in a while.

I picked up the basketball that was laying behind the hoop and put my earphones on. I love playing basketball while listening to imagine dragons. It feels just so peaceful, being in your bubble and doing things I love.

I played for a solid 45 minutes, and that's when I decided to do some training. I had to bounce the ball against the wall, catch it, score a basket and run back to the end of the court. A few minutes in my training, I felt a chest, and my breath became a bit regularly. It didn't feel right, but I ignored the feeling. I think, I have had this feeling before playing basketball with my club back in the Netherlands and it always passed.

After a few minutes doing my training, I paused and drank some water when I saw a Jamie walking up to me with Nathan and Lucas.

Jamie immediately sprinted to me and got the ball off the ground. He started bouncing it around and trying to score a basket.

Lucas and Nathan were now standing beside me watching Jamie trying to score a basket. At the next try, Nathan lifted Jamie, and he scored one. We all applauded. Jamie looked so happy after scoring a basket. I was happy for him although my chest still didn't feel right.

Lucas noticed that something was wrong and asked

"Are you okay Mell?"

I ignored his concerns and said, "Yeah I am perfectly fine."

"Alright, just checking in on you. Everybody almost left, and I think Hailey and your mom are trying to tidy up the house. If you want we could go and play some basketball at the river court when they are finished?"

"yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. I would be keen to.

"Sweet let's help them out and go to the river court then."

After helping mom and Hailey out, we were finally arriving at the river court. It was around 12 in the midnight now, Hailey and mom stayed back to watch Jamie while Nathan, Lucas and I were on the river court.

When we approached the river court, we saw a torch shining a light on the basket. Someone was playing basketball. We contacted the court, and I noticed a familiar face. It was Liam, who was playing basketball.


	13. Chapter 13 - An unexpected encounter

I know it has been a while; life happened again. I finished my internship at Doc Edge and returned home from New Zealand. I am currently in Norway, traveling around a bit before meeting my boyfriend in Oslo. I hope you guys are doing well and arent to bothered with my lack of updating. My excuses for that my lack of updating the story, since I know there aren't a lot of Brooke/Lucas/kid stories out there.

Mell and Lucas approached the river court and saw that someone was already playing basketball. Mell immediately recognized his play and noticed it was Liam. Lucas had no clue what was about to happen when they approached the river court.

Mell, ran at the river court ignoring Lucas surprised reaction while yelling, " Hey smartypants, how come you're still up so late?"

The basketball slipped from Liam's fingers and missed the basket. He turned around and said," well because someone beat me at my own game the last time I played here."

Liam and Mell were now both standing on the river court hugging each other and laughing while Lucas was standing by the sideline looking a bit confused.

"Hey, Mell, whats going on?" Lucas asked.

"Ohh sorry Dad, this is Liam. I met him yesterday morning, uh. well, we played basketball to let me cool off a bit." Mell stuttered.

Ohh, I see. Lucas remembered that morning, and it was the morning Mell rann away since Brooke told her he was her dad. "I am glad you found the river court that morning then. Who is the nice guy, who you call smarty pants?" Lucas asked.

Dad, this is Liam. He is a basketball player for the Ravens. Lucas walked on to the river court and recognized Liam from his practices he did as a high school coach.

The moment, Liam saw Lucas, he nervously said, " Hi Coach."

Lucas replied, Hey Liam, nice to see you are still training during summer break."

Well, what are you guys waiting for? Where her to play basketball right dad & Liam? Mell said.

So let's play basketball.

Mell got the basketball from under neat the basket and start bouncing it around the court. "Okay, let's play just against each other. The person who gets three baskets first wins. Does everyone agree?"

They played a game against each other. Mell was playing very well and almost beat both guys of the court. After playing a while at the river court, the score was two points for Mell. 1 point for Liam and 2 points for Lucas. Everybody was heavily infested in the game and wanted to Win. Liam had the ball and was now standing at the three-pointer lines and scored the basket even though Mell was springing in front of him trying to block his shot. Lucas was standing behind her to catch the ball if it didn't go in, but that was in vain. Meanwhile, the three where playing basketball a car pulled up at the river court. Nobody noticed till Somebody yelled, " Liam, are you there?"

Liam turned around and said, " Oh shit, sorry, dad. My phone should have gone off, but it didn't."

"Well we do have an agreement, you can go out at night playing basketball till 12 in summer, but you have to pick up your phone when I call youngmen."

Lucas and Mell were watching what was happening in silent.

Liam's dad stepped on the river court while saying, " Come on, Liam, let's go home now it's late, and we will talk about this."

Lucas recognized the person that was Liam's dad. He said, " wait, Tim is that you?"

Liam's dad looked at Lucas and went, ohh hey Luke. How are you?

Well, I am doing fine, just playing basketball with my daughter and your kid. He does have the talent, you know!

Well nice seeing you again Lucas, but we do have to go home now. Come on, Liam.

Liam and Tim left the river court. Mell asked Lucas," How do you know Liam's father?"

Well, he and I used to play in the same team in high school. I haven't seen him for in 5 years, I think. It has been a while since anybody has spotted him in town that I know. He mostly keeps to himself. A good guy, he just had a strange sense of humor in high school. He said while laughing a bit.

Ohh well do you want to continue playing basketball for a few more minutes? Just do the best out of three?"

"Yeah, sure," Mell replied.

Lucas and Mell started playing basketball again, but after a few minutes, Mells's chest began to hurt again. She ignored the feeling and decided to play through. It was probably her bad stamina that was causing it. Lucas did notice a change in her play around 15 minutes into the game. Mell didn't shoot the baskets anymore, and her footwork was getting weaker. After Lucas scored the final basket, mell just sat down in the river court. " pff well that was a good game dad, I think I need to train a bit more to get some of my stamina back. I haven't played basketball on that level in a while since the holidays."

"Well, you played well Mell, don't beat yourself up about that. Also are you alright, you look a bit troubled. It's the same look you had while playing at Nathans house."

I am fine dad, don't worry. Just a bit out of breath, I guess. Should we have back in a bit? and see how the rest is doing cleaning up the house after the bbq?"

"Yeah, that's fine with me. Let's go."

Lucas was driving back to Nathans house while Mell was messaging someone on her phone. Thinking to himself, this day was great. Mell called him Dad most of the time, his mum and mell met, and the bbq went great. Only a shame of Liam that he had to leave earlier, but as a new dad, he could understand Tims concern.

Arriving back at Nathan & Haley's house. The rest of the bbq clean up party except for Jamie was sitting in the backyard drink wine and chatting happily amongst each other when Lucas and Mell arrived.

Mell and Lucas joined them for a bit until Mell got a phone call and excused her self from the adults.


	14. Chapter 14 - A phone call with uncle bas

Its been a few days since the barbeque at Nathan and Hailey's place. I have been getting used to living in Tree Hill, although I do notice its sometimes hard to talk English all day long. I am used to talking English a lot when I was living in the Netherlands. Mostly i spoke English at home with mum and bass, but at school, dutch was the primary language.

Uncle Bass called me the night of the barbeque, and we had a great talk. I spoke about all the things I was worried about.

Mells Phone rings when everyone is sitting outside of Nathans and Hailey's house in the fresh summer air and are chatting about the day's events.

Mell picks up the phone and excuses her self. She walks towards the living room where nobody is.

"Hi, uncle Bass."

"Hi dearest niece of mine, how are you doing? How has Tree Hill been threatening you ?"

"its been good so far, there were some bumps in the road so to speak, but everything is alright for now."

"what sort of bumps mell?"

"Well, first of all, I met my father for the first time as mum probably told you already, I met a new friend on a basketball court, and we are just at the bbq of my dad's brother."

The conversations continued until mell noticed someone was standing in the opening of the door, trying to get her attention.

"Mum, what's up?"

"Hi, Mell, who are you calling? "

"Ohh, its just uncle bass, mum."

"oh, si hi to him for me, I thought you were outside and was looking for you? do you maybe have a minute to talk to me?"

"Yeah, always, just give me a second to say by to uncle bass."

"That's a fine sweety."

Mell picked up the phone again and ended the conversation with uncle bass while she promised to call him more often.

Mell sat down on the sofa that was in the living room, and Brooke followed. She waited patiently till Brooke spoke:

" I just wanted to talk about you are starting high school, and I know its not the right time, but we have to consider you starting highschool and which grade you should start in, of course."

"Really mum at this moment, oh well. Yeah, we should probably consider me going to Tree Hill high since you went there too. I would like that, I guess, and maybe I can join the basketball team also. who knows. "

"Okay, we have to see that, but I bet once you put your mind to it, you will succeed at it. I just wanted to check with you very quickly to see what you wanted, but then I will make an appointment with the high school and arrange everything for you to go there."

"Okay, thanks, mum, was that all btw?"

"Yepp, that's all, and I wanted to say that I am proud of you how you are handling everything that has been going on so far. You have dealt with a lot of changes and just wanted to say aswell that I am always here to support you no matter what, alright?"

Mell hugged Brooke and said:

"Thanks, mum, that helps a lot. I will don't worry."

Lucas walked in on Brooke and Mell hugging in the living room and couldn't help to snap a quick photograph of them before he walked in on them to tell them that everybody is cleaning up the last parts and it they wanted to help.

Brooke, Mell, Lucas, and everybody else was helping to clean up the last bits. They said goodbye to Nathan and Hailey before getting into the car and driving back.

Mell was looking out of the window and thinking about how things had changed. She thought about starting high school and how she didn't want to deal with that yet. She was worried about her dyslexia and if she had to tell mum about it. She didn't have it that badly but just lightly even though it was still enough for her to misspell things when she didn't see the words beforehand, and she was a slow reader.

How would she handle highschool in englisch?

But first of all, she still had another two weeks of summer holidays, and she was determined to make the best out of it.


	15. Chapter 15 - Bonfire party

Summer is over, and the first day of high school is approaching.

I am incredibly nervous about how my first day is going to be.

Its the weekend before school begins, and I want to end it with a bang. Liam and I have stayed in contact so far and met up multiple times to play Basketball at the river court. My chest pain hasn't gotten any worse when playing, but it hasn't been getting better either, which I had hoped. Last Friday, Liam and I were playing Basketball when he mentioned that there was a party he got invited to and he wanted me to come too. It is a bonfire party on the beach to say goodbye to the summer holidays practically and say hello to the new school year.

I accepted his invitation, and now I am here.

I first didn't know if it was a good idea to come here. i don't know a lot of people yet. Although I don't mind making new friends, I do know too that Americans can be different from the dutchies. I have noticed the differences sometimes in the Netherlands also. I remember mum having trouble with it in the beginning.

One evening when I was around 14 years old, mum, uncle bass, and I were eating diner together, and the topic arose of cultural differences and what they found different then back home. Dutch people or dutchies as they call themselves abroad sometimes can come over as blunt and direct. We don't talk around the bush when we are discussing things. When working in teams and someone is not doing work, you ask them about it if something is wrong and what the reason is why they haven't done the job yet or adequately. Uncle Bass told us he discovered this when he started working again. He sais that it is not that they want to be rude or anything, but they want to be more honest and trying to help people by asking if they need help. Its a bit more direct he said but also sometimes more efficiently.

I think some people here will give me a hard time because I was born in the Netherlands. Giving me the usual crap, " Do you do drugs? Do you have drugs with you? Where are your clogs? Didn't you live in a windmill there?" I'm not too fond of those stereotypes because they aren't even true.

I am walking towards the bonfire, trying to find Liam somewhere between the crowds. I can't see him anywhere and decide to grab a drink and enjoy the guy playing guitar at the bonfire. People are singing, and I am nodding my head on the ritme when suddenly someone taps me on my shoulder. I turn around and see Liam with some other guys behind him.

"He Mell, How are you doing? Didn't think you would show up?"

Well, here I am, I was looking for you, but couldn't find you. I reply.

"Well I am glad you came" Liam turns to his friends

"Hey Guys, this is Mell, Mell. This is most of the Tree Hill basketball team.

He points to a guy with a charlotte hornets cap on and says this here is Richard. He is our point guard. Here are Alex and Charles. They all say Hi to me and then started talking with each other again. Expect for Charles.

"So how did you end up in this town, Mell?"

"Well, my mum and I recently moved back to where mum grew up."

"Ohh cool, so where are you from then? you do have an accent i haven't heard before."

"Uhh, well, i moved from the Netherlands to Tree Hill."

"Seriously, you're from Amsterdam? That's so cool. So have you ever smoked weed?"

I looked at him and saw he was serious about his question; i thought this was going to happen. Why won't i make a joke out of this, right?

"Well, actually, I live in a windmill in Amsterdam, and i had a side job as a drug dealer back home, I say sarcastically.

"Really?" Charles asks

Liam looks at me and starts laughing when he hears Charles's reaction.

I start laughing while saying, "no, dude, i am just joking."

Hahaha, very funny, he says, but yeah, so the Netherlands I know nothing about that country, so let's skip that for another time when we are not drinking he?

Yeah, let skip that for now; I agree. So whats going on in this town except for Basketball, which I gathered from my family and Liam here.

"Nothing much except for this party and basketball-related parties but you should come next time too, I like your jokes, but I will leave I think Alex had a bit too much to drink and I don't want him puking on someone again."

"It was nice meeting you, Charles, and if you wanna know what the Netherlands is like, let me know I joke. Maybe see you around another time."

"Nice to meet you to Mell. It was right. See you around."

Liam and I were left alone at the bonfire and started talking when suddenly a love song came up, and couples were dancing together.

Want a dance, I asked. I saw Liam looking around and replying yeah, why not. We started dancing and getting slowly closer together when suddenly it happened. I looked him in the eyes and kissed him.

Liam kissed me back, and when we stopped and looked at each other, he said, " Wow didn't expect that" Me neither I replied.

We continue dancing, and I laid my head on his shoulders. After the song was done, we decide to talk and sit nearby the shoreline till almost everyone was gone. We talked about a lot of different topics from serious to silly, and we kissed again. The party ended when the sun came up, and Liam and I walked home.


	16. Chapter 16 - A new day & a new school

It's 7 in the morning when my alarm goes off. It's officially the first day of high school for me. I am nervous as Hell because First of all because people will notice my accent and second of all well. I rather not talk about that.

The summer holiday went by so fast. Maybe that's because there were a lot of changes in my life. I moved to the USA, met my father and the rest of his family and fall in Love. Yes, you have heard it right, Mell Davis well in Love. The last few days were spent playing basketball with dad, walking around the town with mum, going to family bbq, and spending time with Liam.

I picked up my phone and saw a missed call from Jasper, my best friend from the Netherlands. I hadn't talked to him in a while. I was just too busy. One thing I have to do after my first day at school was calling Jasper to see how he is doing. I texted him back, asking if he wanted to call around ten my time. Hopefully, he won't be angry with me for being slow in texting back.

I walked into the kitchen. Nobody was up yet. Dad and Mum were probably still sleeping, I thought. Ohh yeah, one thing that changed too was that dad spent more time at our house now than at his own home. Not that mum and I minded. It was nice having a dad who is more present in my life. I decided to make breakfast while i listen to my favorite music to calm me down a bit. My nerves were getting a bit out of hand. I was listening to Imagine Dragons when dad walked in. I didn't hear him until someone tapped me on my shoulder. I jumped and accidentally spilled all my milk on the floor in the process.

"He Mell, good morning, misses into her bubble."

"Sorry, dad didn't know you were here."

"Yeah, I have been talking to you for about 3 minutes or something, haha. Let's clean this up first, shall we?'

"Yeah, I will get the cloth."

Dad and I were sitting at the dining table discussing school. I was to drive with him to school since he was working there as a basketball coach. We would arrive earlier than most students since dad had to prepare practice, and I had to pick up my books and schedule.

We were driving towards the school when dad asked:

"So what are your expectations of an American high school. I know you have been to a dutch one since Brooke talked about it a bit

"Yeah, I don't know. The first thing is. First, it won't be anything like the movies I bet. I hope it's different than that at least. Also, I probably have to get used to having specific lessons in English, for example, science. "

"I bet, know that Haley and I are always available if something happens. We have to be there all day anyway."

"Thanks, I will keep it in mind."

"Also, nobody knows your my daughter btw or Haileys, niece. We are going to keep that a secret as long as possible. We don't want people to think you will get a better grade in English or PE than other students just because your family works her as teachers."

"Sounds like a good plan, really don't want to have that advance. I want to be a normal student and get my high school degree."

We pulled into the high school parking lot. The school looks so spread out. I wasn't used to that. My old highschool looked more buildup and had multiple levels of classrooms. This highschool was all spread out.

Dad walked inside while I followed. There were no students, yet only some teachers walking around and the janitor.

I picked up my schedule, books, and the key to my locker. After I put my books away, I didn't need it; I decided to explore the high school a bit more.

I had at least more than 30 minutes to spare till school really begun.

I walked around for more than 10 minutes. I found the library, some classrooms, including the one I needed to go to for my first class and the Gym. I decided to shoot a few hoops while I still had 20 minutes to spare. I put down my backpack and started bouncing the basketball and shooting hoops. Finally, I felt a bit more at each. I was in my element.

Well, let's say I was so much in my element that I didn't notice that the high school was getting busier. Suddenly someone opened the door to the Gym. I looked up, and It was Liam. I started smiling when I saw him, and he returned a smile too.

"What are you doing here, Mell?"

"Uhhh, you know playing basketball dummy?"

He started tickling me and said, "Who's the dummy now, Mell?"

"I am, I am, I said. just stop, haha. This is tickling me too much."

"Alright, fine, on one condition," Liam said

"Could you try out for the basketball team, I know its an only boys team, but we really need a good player, and it would be fun if my girlfriend joins the team."

"wait, girlfriend, you haven't even asked me to be your girlfriend."

"Ohh, well, I thought we already were since we spent a lot of time to gather and you know we .."

"True, well, mister. Then let's say we are officially Boy and girlfriend. But on one condition. Let's not tell everybody in this school or my family yet. I don't want people to know yet, alright. I am new here.

"Alright, deal," Liam said

"Only, if it's for a little while, I don't want to keep this a secret for months."

"No, that's not the plan. Just for the first few weeks of high school."

"That's fine. Let's get you to class then."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan; I have English first of my dear aunt.; I can't be late for that."

Its been a while but I am back. A lot of things happened again not only in my life but also around the world. I hope everybody is safe and healthy who is reading this. Just hold on. And as we say in my part of the world "Kop der voor" Which means held your head high and just keep going."

Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter, and all ideas and feedback are welcome.

Cheers and keep being strong and healthy persons.


	17. Chapter 17 - Introducing myself

Liam and I went our separate ways when the school bell rang. I didn't have the change to talk to Hailey before class. I needed to tell something important. For some reason, i hadn't told her yet. The topic of school just never came up. I stepped into the classroom. There were already a few pupils there. I decided to talk to Hailey after class since I didn't want everybody to know that I had Dyslexia.

I was greeted by a smile when I walked into the classroom and many eyes staring at me. I immediately heard people whisper:

"Who is that?"

"Is she new here?"

"Ohh yeah, I heard she was from Holland."

I decided to take a seat and see if they would stop whispering since its rude to do anyway. The thing about whispering is once you switch from average volume when talking to whispering, you will always notice it.

I sat down, put my notebook on the table with a pen, but the whispering didn't stop. I am not a person of making a scene, but this time was different. I just turned around towards the group of girls and boys that were still obviously talking about me and said:

"You do know, instead of guessing where I am from and who I am that you can also ask? "

They stopped talking and looked at me like I grew a second head.

When suddenly one of the girls said:

" You're right, Sorry we just normally don't get new students in this school, so from the moment we stepped into the classroom, people just got curious."

"Understandable," I said

Nobody made any intention of saying something else, so I decided to take the lead then.

"You know if you wanna ask me something, you can. I am Mel btw."

The same girl replied while the rest was watching the scene go down.

"I am Nathasha, but people tend to call me Tash. So where are you from Mell because you do have an accent that's not American."

"Nice to meet you, Tash, then," I said before I got interrupted by a boy wearing a baseball jacket.

"I hear you are from Amsterdam, that so dope."

"Uhh, well technically, I am not, but, yeah, I lived in the Netherlands before."

"Wait, that's Amsterdam right, the same boy replied"

" Ignore Jay here; he hasn't been anywhere else, then North Carolina," Tash said

Hailey stood in front of the class and said: " good morning, everyone."

As you can see, we have a new student today. Could you come upfront for a bit Melissa."

I walked towards the front of the class while Tash gave me a thumbs up.

" Alright, class, let's do play a little game. Think of something that would suit with Mellissa qualities on first impressions. But first, Mellissa, I want you to tell in 2 minutes a bit about yourself."

I stood in front of the class, getting a bit nervous. I didn't like this stuff, but at the same time, I did like presenting or pitching ideas. Maybe I needed to tackle this the same way. Let just throw myself to the class, I thought, and that is how I begin.

"Thanks, Well, let's start. First of all my full name is Melissa but almost nobody calls me that except for my mum when she is angry. Just call me Mell, please. Secondly, I love playing sports, listening to music, and I like to think i am a creative person in a sense."

Hailey divided some post-it notes along with the class, and they had to write down one word that they thought would fit me. When the post-it notes came back, she said, "Alright Mell, lets divided them into two categories. One category will be the wrong perception; another one will be the correct perception.

I picked up the post-it notes, and the first one said

"Kind," I placed it incorrectly

The second one said sporty, and I also put it incorrectly

The third one said not the smartest, which I found was a bit rude, soI placed it in the wrong perspective.

The fourth one said driven a placed it incorrect

The fifth one said a withdrawn and put it in the wrong perspective.

This went on till everything was done, and then Hailey said alright now I want you to do this for yourself. How would someone that doesn't know you describe you, and how do you want to describe be a stranger?

After that, I want everyone to write a paper of 800 words on how to introduce yourself or a character best since that is precisely what we are doing here in a sense.

We started working until the bell rang. I waited for the class to be empty to deliver my paper to Hailey.

"So how was your first class, Mell?" Hailey asked

"It was alright; it's class. But I just wanted to talk for a bit about something." I don't know if you already knew, but I ..."

The next students came already in the classroom, and I was running late for my next class world history.

"Uhh, sorry, mell, let's discuss this a bit later after school if that's alright?" She asked me with an apologizing smile.

"That's fine; don't worry, I said."

The rest of the day went by quite fast. I had a world history and after that science. In the lunchbreak, Liam and I found each other in the cafeteria and chatted along how everything was going, etc. After Lunch, I had geography where I saw Tash sitting in the classroom as well and sat beside here. We got off on the wrong foot, but after that class, I got to know here a bit better. It was lovely sitting next to here when the whole group she was hanging out with wasn't there too. She seemed a bit more relaxed and more helpful.

After the last class of the day, I had to wait for dad to drive me home, so I decided to walk towards the Gym when the final bell rang. Tash saw me walking there and immediately asked where I was going. I came up with an accuse that I wanted to shoot some hoops before going back home since that is what I was used to after school. Tash decided that was not a good enough reason and kept walking beside me and said

"Alright, I will join you then, even though I am not good at basketball, and I am a cheerleader, but I don't want you to get into trouble on your first day."

We reached the Gym and saw that it was not possible to shoot some hoops. There were already some guys playing basketball, and I saw dad standing in the Gym too. They must have had training.

Suddenly I remember the conversation I had with Liam about joining the team and that today was the training for that. Fuck, I thought, I promised him to join.

Maybe not the best chapter I wrote, but I am building up the story to something big. I just wanted to thank everybody who is reading my story. It means a lot to me. I decided to set a goal for myself to produce at least three chapters every week until the crisis is over. I hope that makes it a bit up for my long absence the past couple of months. Stay home and stay safe.


	18. Chapter 18 - Basketbal Try-outs

I stood there in the doorway, having eye contact with my dad until someone spoke: " I think you girls got the wrong room." one of the guys said who was the team captain.

"No, actually, I think I have the right room, but I am a bit too late or, as I would say, fashionably late."

The boy looked at me with a smirk that said I hadn't heard the last of it.

Tash looked at me a bit weirdly and whispered: "what do you mean you're a bit too late."

You will see, I said

I walked up towards the coach, who is my dad, of course, but nobody knew that accept us. When I reached him, I asked: "Is it okay for me to join the try-outs coach?"

Dad looked at me and said, " Well, I have to discuss that with the other coach for a bit because you are late."

"Skills, what do you think?" Lucas yelled across the Gym, where another mall was standing with a whistler around his neck.

"Well, let me see what she can do first; even though she is late, she does have cuts." Skills yelled across the gym

"Okay, you can join, but if you can't keep up, we will bench you, you understand," Lucas said in a severe tone of voice.

Everybody was watching the ordeal go one while playing basketball. The guys who were the team captain decided to speak up.

"Coach, you can't be kidding me; we can't play with a girl. This is a boy's basketball team." Brett said.

Some of his friends were standing behind him and yelled, Yeah, coach in agreement.

Then suddenly Liam appeared behind the group and said, Just let her be and see what she can do. Just be cool about it, guys." He winked at me when he said it.

Brett didn't like that and said: "Well, will find you later on in the lockerroom Liam."

Lucas and Skills didn't hear Brett saying this to Liam, but I did. Skills stopped this argument by saying, "Are you guys going to whine about this, or are we going to play basketball." And then he troughs the ball in the air.

I caught the ball, and the shot it straight through the hoop from where I was standing.

Everyone, including Lucas, Skills, and Tash, was amazed by this.

But Brett didn't give in and said "PFF Lucky shot"

Melissa, get dressed, and we will see you in 5. Boys lets see who can run the most laps in 5 minutes" Lucas said

I walked towards Tash to get my sports bag out of my locker and get changed. She just whispered," What the fuck happened, Mell? Where did that come from?"

I didn't want to explain to her and said: "I will explain later, I have to get dressed first."

When I got back into the Gym, the boys were resting a bit, and skills were standing next to them. When he saw me coming in, he immediately entered into actions and said: "Okay, everyone lets make teams,"

Brett and another guy named Charles had to pick teams. Of course, I was not expecting to be selected first, but to be picked last was a bit shitty.

Ohh, well, I didn't want it to bother me.

The one good thing about me being picked last was that Liam and I were on the same team. So at least I had one person who knew and trusted me. I didn't need to prove myself to him, at least.

We started to play; everything went well. We defended well, and then Liam got the ball and started dribbling towards the basket. He passed it to another teammate who passed it back to another one and that one shot from the three-pointer line. I stood under the basket, and when the ball didn't go in, I decided to go for the rebound and scored.

This went one for a few rounds, and we were playing against Brett.

Our team was doing a bit better than the other side, and Skills started to notice this. Not only skills but Brett started to get irritated too.

How could this newby beat us, she is also the new girl. This can't be happening. Brett said to himself.

We were in the last minutes of the game, and Liam just passed the ball towards Me. I was about to score until I felt someone pushing me aside. The one thing I remember was trying to keep my balance while i was being pushed away, but then I fell on my hand. A pain shot through it, but I ignored it. I heard my dad holding his breath while he blew the whistle very loudly. My heart was beating fast. When I turned around to see who pushed me, Brett was standing there. Dad and Skills were already walking towards us. While Liam shoved Brett out of the way while saying:

What the hell was that, bro?"

"Nothing, new Liam just playing basketball as usual. You know how competitive i can get" Brett replied

"Bullshitt Brett, this is not competitivity !"

The conversation started to get heated, and they were walking towards each other, but luckily, skills broke it up; otherwise, it may or may not have ended up in a fight.

Dad came into my vision and asked if I was alright. He looked concerned.

"Yeah I am fine coach, don't worry about me. I can handle a little push." I replied.

Dad looked a bit surprised to me, calling him coach, but that was the deal we made about being professional in the school environment.

Dad offered me a hand, and I stood up. I decided to get the ball and pass it to Brett. "Your game," I yelled at him.

Dad's whistle sounded through the Gym, and he yelled: "let's play again, boys."

The game started again, and in the end, we won.

After training, everybody went back to the locker rooms. Tomorrow we will see who is going to make the team. Liam walked with me to the girl's lockerroom since Tash already left. I couldn't find her on the tribune anymore, so I assumed she went home. When we came to the girl's locker room, Liam stopped for a bit and asked: "You sure you are okay. I saw you fall on your hand, awkwardly?"

"Yeah, I am sure I am fine," I replied even though my hand still hurt, and I already saw a little blue bruce forming. I didn't want Liam to worry.

I kissed him and said, "Will see you tomorrow."

"see you tomorrow" he replied back

I stepped into the locker room to see it all empty. I was alone. I opened my locker, but it wasn't locked. Weird, I thought. Maybe I forgot to close it, in the end, I was in a hurry to get dressed. I got my phone out of the locker and saw a message from Tash:

"Sorry, Mell, I needed to leave. It was getting late, and I mostly help my mum with dinner. But wow, girl, you can play basketball omg. I will see you tomorrow at school. Ps. I saw a certain someone looking at you quite a lot when I was watching the training."

I toke a shower, got dressed, and decided to pack up when I heard a knock on the door. "Mell, are you ready to go" I heard

"Yeah I am almost ready, give me two minutes and I will come out."

I packed my bag and opened the door. Dad was standing there already in his casual clothes. "You ready to head home?"

"Yess lets go home," I replied


	19. Chapter 19 - an unexpected visitor

We usually don't spend time in dad's house, but since mum wanted to catch up with Hailey and dad wanted me to see his childhood home. Today we decided to have diner in Dad's house for some reason.

When we got to his home, mum was already making diner. She usually doesn't make diner, but I think she wanted to be kind and have a family diner tonight. I only hope one thing when i is that dad doesn't tell her what happened in the try-outs. Dad walked towards mum and kissed her.

"How was your day ?" He askes Brooke

"Pretty good, actually, but I will tell you everything over dinner, Lucas."

"How was your first day Mel?" Brooke asks.

We all sat down at the table and talked. The meal is already set with multiple dishes. I think one of the things mum liked of the dutch culture is having family dinners and sitting at the table and talk about each other's day. Which btw could take up to 2 hours if its Christmas or something else important.

"Well, my day was pretty okay. Liam helped me a lot and also the first class I had was English with aunt Hailey, so that was good too. The thing I did notice is that some people here are boisterous but don't ask the questions to you. But everything was perfect so far. So mum, what did you do?"

"Well, I bought a building that I am planning to make into my fashion store."

"Wow, that's awesome, mum!"

Lucas looked surprised but proudly at Brooke.

The rest of the diner was peaceful. We talked more about my first day, and dad talked about the basketball try-outs. Luckily he didn't speak about my accident with Brett. We heard a loud knock suddenly when dad was talking about Jamie visiting him with Nathan around his lunch break.

"Who would that be this time ?" mum asked.

"I will open the door," I said while getting up from my chair.

I walked through the hallway towards the door and opened it.

There was a man in his 40 or 50 with black hair. He looked at me, shocked.

"Who are you, he asked?"

"Well, I can ask you the same question, Sir," I replied

"I am looking for Lucas," He said with a stern voice.

"I know he lives here and I wanna have a quick chat with him," He said

" Yeah, he lives here. I will get Dad," I said when suddenly dad disappeared in the hallway. Not only that but when I said this, the man looked up, shocked. I don't know why, though. I don' even know him.

"What are you doing here," He asked the man.

"I wanna talk, Lucas. Just a talk between father and son."

Dad looked at me and said, " Go back inside, Mell."

I walked back towards the dining table, where mum was patiently listening to the conversation. She made the sign of being silent to me.

So there we sat at the dining table while our food slowly was getting colder and dad was talking to a strange man in the doorway.

Mum and I listened to the conversation.

"Lucas, please let just have a chat with the two of us, alright?"

"No, Dan, that's not necessary anymore after everything that happened."

"Please, just let have a chat."

"No, is no alright. You had so many changes, and every time you can into my life, it got worse. I stay out of my business and life, alright."

"I, I wanna reconnect. I have changed since I have been in prison, and now that I know you have a daughter. I wanna ..." Dan said but got interrupted by an angry Lucas.

"First of all, Mell has nothing to do with this. Secondly, dead dad, since you killed Keith, I can't find any way to forgive you for that and all the other things you have done. At last, stay the hell out of my life and don't even think about hanging around my daughter."

"Lucas, you can't say that, and It's your daughter. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's none of your business, Dan! Just get out of my sight."

Dad closed the door, but the man called Dan put his foot between it.

I looked at mum, and she was looking a bit nervous but whispered to me to keep quiet while we walked upstairs.

Sorry I ended on a cliffhanger. I will make it up to you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as I said before, I will try to keep updating this story every two-three times a week. It hasn't been updated the last couple of years, but I am dedicated to it and enjoy writing it again.

I hope everybody is safe and healthy. Cheers!


End file.
